Zimbabwe has begun paying government workers in U.S. dollars and will allow more trade in foreign currency, the new finance minister announced Wednesday in the first act by a unity government that gave the opposition control of much of the devastated economy.

President Robert Mugabe's peers are losing patience, the top negotiator for the Zimbabwe opposition said on the eve of an extraordinary regional summit called to deal with the southern African nation's power-sharing deadlock.

Barack Obama's Kenyan relatives and Africans across the continent sang, danced in the streets and wrapped themselves in U.S. flags Wednesday to cheer for America's first black president. Kenya will party for two days, after the president declared a national holiday.

Zimbabwe's main opposition leader boycotted a regional meeting Monday, saying the session was too limited to push President Robert Mugabe into taking the steps needed to implement the stalled agreement to form a power-sharing government.

Police said Zimbabwe's No. 2 opposition official would be charged with treason, a potential death penalty charge that marked a dramatic escalation of a government crackdown ahead of a presidential runoff.

Police said Zimbabwe's No. 2 opposition official would be charged with treason, a potential death penalty charge that marked a dramatic escalation of a government crackdown ahead of a presidential runoff.

A presidential election runoff between Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will be held June 27, the electoral commission said in an announcement published Friday.